Deadly blast hits northern Pakistan

Bomb attack kills at least six people and injures several more in tribal agency.

05 Dec 2008 12:09 GMT

But the AFP news agency quoted an official saying the bomb was detonated remotely.

"The bomb was apparently planted in a car parked under a bridge adjoining the market and went off when the place was full of Shia shoppers. It also destroyed several shops," the official was quoted as saying.

"Six people were killed and 12 wounded in the blast," he said.

Increasing violence

Pakistan's army and paramilitary forces do not have a presence in Orakzai, where security is managed by tribal police.

A local official said that police had cordoned off the scene of the blast and deployed reinforcements.

Further south, police reported fighters armed with guns and rockets killed twoofficers manning a checkpoint near the town of Bannu.

Sectarian violence has increased in northwest Pakistan over the past year.

Security analysts say al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters have stirredup sectarian divisions as they expand their influence through the northwest.

Orakzai has been relatively peaceful over the past year compared with other tribal regions but in October, more than 50 people were killed in a suicide attack at a tribal council called to draw up strategy to evict fighters from the area.